She could see it, and she could feel it. She kissed Burke some more, and even when she opened her eyes, she could still see what could be, what she knew Burke believed in.
Lucy’s collar jangled from downstairs, and Jess could hear the padding of the dog’s paws as she climbed steadily to the second floor of the house. Jess pulled back a ways from Burke and the both of them turned toward the doorway as the dog appeared, head cocked and curious.
Her tail wagged when she saw them, but she must have known they were making out; she grumbled to herself and turned around and lay down, heavy, on the landing. Jess and Burke could hear her muttering complaints as she settled herself on the floor.
“You’d better get used to it, dog,” Burke called out. “There’s going to be a lot more where that came from.”
The dog groaned loud, as if she understood what he’d said, and Jess and Burke laughed.
“She’ll like it here,” Burke said. “When it’s all said and done.”
“Yes,” Jess said. “I think she will.”
She was still holding Burke, and Burke was still holding her, and she turned away from the doorway to look into his eyes again.
“I think we all will,” she told him. “It’s going to be a beautiful home.”
Acknowledgments
It’s not always the easiest thing to bring a book into the world. I’m very grateful to my agent, Stacia Decker, for sticking up for me when the chips were down, and to Josh Kendall at Mulholland for his efforts on Jess, Mason, and Lucy’s behalf.
Many other fine people at Mulholland and Little, Brown helped to get this story into your hands, including Helen Richard O’Hare, Betsy Uhrig, Sareena Kamath, Shannon Hennessey, Pamela Brown, Emily Giglierano, and Reagan Arthur. Thanks in particular to my wonderful copyeditor, Dianna Stirpe, for saving my bacon over and over again, and for doing so with wit and originality.
Thanks to the many booksellers and librarians who’ve helped readers find their way to Makah County and back again, and to everyone who’s taken that journey, in this book or the last one or both.
I’m grateful to my family—Ethan Laukkanen, Ruth Sellers, Andrew and Terrence Laukkanen, Laura Mustard, and little E—for their wisdom, humor, and love, above all.
And, of course, I’m grateful to my own Lucy, who’s in every way as wonderful as the Lucy in these books.
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About the Author
A former commercial fisherman and professional poker journalist, Owen Laukkanen is the author of six critically acclaimed Stevens and Windermere FBI thrillers, the nautical adventure Gale Force, and The Wild, a thriller for young adults. A native of Vancouver, Canada, Laukkanen spends nearly every waking hour with his dog, Lucy, a seven-year-old rescue pit bull whose hobbies include hiking, napping, and squirrels.
Books by Owen Laukkanen
Winslow and Burke Novels
Deception Cove
Lone Jack Trail
Stevens and Windermere Novels
The Professionals
Criminal Enterprise
Kill Fee
The Stolen Ones
The Watcher in the Wall
The Forgotten Girls
Stand-Alone
Gale Force
The Wild
Lone Jack Trail Page 27